As part of our ongoing efforts to improve & grow as both a business, and as professional Scuba Divers, some of the staff underwent some new training during the colder winter months, to help Aquatic Adventures become an Adaptive Teaching centre.
Adaptive teaching is the practice of flexing and modifying existing techniques to accommodate students and customers who require extra attention or altered methodologies due to cognitive or physical differences. Essentially it is PADI’s answer to the Disabled Divers International curriculum, preferring to focus on ability, rather than disability.
We spent 2 days practising different techniques to complete scuba diving skills and experiencing what it may be like for people of different ability levels to attempt scuba diving and achieve certification. Day 1 was in the pool, and day 2 was in the ocean, and it is safe to say that at the end of the 2 days, all involved had gained a new insight into the ways our beloved sport can challenge and inspire people of different ability.
Highlight moments included experiencing diving from the perspective of people with visual impairments, as well as attempting to adapt some of the “simpler” scuba skills to divers who have lost a limb, and realising how much more complicated things can become if you don’t think them through beforehand.
We now have 6 Instructors, 6 Divemasters, and 4 soon-to-be-Divemasters all trained in Adaptive techniques and support diving, and we intend for the rest of the staff to complete the same training over the coming months. Aquatic Adventures plans to offer opportunities to experience and learn scuba diving to some of the local disability groups, and with the staff we now have trained, to open up the possibility for those with different requirements to participate in our courses and club activities.
If you know anyone who you think would be interested in our new adaptively enabled training, please don’t hesitate to have them contact us, and if you would like to join an Adaptive Techniques and Support course, then we will be running them alongside all our Rescue Diver programs moving forward (as part of our revised service offerings), and can arrange for you to join in.
